Aucoin records hat trick to lead Whalers

Chris Barca

Updated 11:36 pm, Friday, January 11, 2013

DANBURY -- On Friday night, Whalers forward Philip Aucoin laced up his skates to play in his first organized hockey game in nearly two years. By the end of the night, he was the most popular player on the ice.

"I skate every two weeks to keep myself in shape, but when I first got out there, the action was a little fast," he said. "As the game progressed, everything came back to normal and it was easy to get back into it. Four goals would have been nice but three is good I guess."

A regional manager at a tile distribution company by day, the newest addition to the Whalers roster made his return to hockey in style. Aucoin scored two goals in the opening period and an open net goal in the third period to complete the hat trick, leading the Whalers to a 6-3 victory over the 1000 Islands Privateers at the Danbury Ice Arena.

The home crowd may not have known of Aucoin prior to the dropping of the puck, but his early heroics injected an incredible amount of energy into the arena, an energy that the Whalers maintained throughout the night.

After a first period goal by Whalers forward Cody Ayers at the 8:29 mark, it was Aucoin's time to shine. Channeling his inner Sidney Crosby, Aucoin ripped a shot from near the blue line, sending it sailing over 1000 Islands goalie Matt Anthony's left shoulder and into the top corner of the net at the 12:01 point in the period.

"I honestly didn't think I would score tonight because of my long layoff," he said. "But it was nice Lynn Beedle got the assist on my first goal. He was my roommate at Norwich University for three years where we won a national championship."

Two Privateers goals in the 16th minute of the period tied the game at two, but in the waning seconds of the period, the former American Hockey League veteran pounded home the puck from short range, bringing the crowd to their feet and giving the Whalers a lead they would never relinquish.

A second period snipe from Steve Brown found its way past Anthony, giving him his first goal of the season and the Whalers a seemingly safe 4-2 lead, but despite their relative dominance in terms of aggression and the game's tempo, the Privateers were still able to make things interesting. Taylor Larsen scored his second goal of the game at the 2:19 mark of the third period, cutting the Whalers' lead to just 4-3. 1000 Islands peppered Whalers goalie Mike Brown with 12 shots on goal in the third period alone, but the All-Star held strong and allowed his offense to put the game away. With just 45 seconds remaining, Richard Vanderhoek buried the game-sealing shot into the net, assisted by Aucoin. Thirty seconds later, Aucoin finished off the hat trick with an open net goal and cementing the 6-3 victory.

"Credit to my teammates for playing so well out there, everyone played well," he said. "And I'm here to help this team win."